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These are a reader favorite over at Corporette, and a doctor friend of mine was JUST raving about how insanely comfortable they are. There are many highly reviewed AGL flats at Nordstrom, but I like these pretty tortoise-toe ones — and they’re 30%. They were $298, but are now $208 — lots of sizes left. Attilio Giusti Leombruni Ballerina Flat
(L-3)
Sales of note for 9.10.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; up to 50% off everything else
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off wear-to-work styles; extra 30% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off everything; extra 60% off clearance
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Extra 40% off sale styles
- Talbots – BOGO 50% everything, includes markdowns
- Zappos – 26,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Birthday sale, 40-50% off & extra 20% off select styles
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off all baby; up to 40% off all Halloween
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Extra 30% off sale styles
- Old Navy – 40% off everything
- Target – BOGO 25% off select haircare, up to 25% off floor care items; up to 30% off indoor furniture up to 20% off TVs
See some of our latest articles on CorporetteMoms:
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- The concept of “backup care” is so stupid…
- I need tips on managing employees in BigLaw who have to leave for daycare pickup…
- I’m thinking of leaning out to spend more time with my family – how can I find the perfect job for that?
- I’m now a SAHM and my husband needs to step up…
- How can I change my thinking to better recognize some of my husband’s contributions as important, like organizing the shed?
- What are your tips to having a good weekend with kids, especially with little kids? Do you have a set routine or plan?
Marilla says
Hopping over to this side of Corporette for the first time to ask a question from you wise ladies. How do you swallow the early pregnancy anxiety? We’ve been TTC so long and just found out about a week ago that I’m pregnant – almost exactly a year after my first pregnancy which ended in a fairly early but drawn-out miscarriage. We had just started seeing a specialist and were in our first month of cycle monitoring when I got pregnant, so I have a hard time believing this one will stick when they hadn’t actually started any interventions yet. I’ve been trying to just pretend it isn’t happening and assume that I’ll start bleeding, but every day that goes by without any spotting, I get more attached to this pregnancy and more scared of the impact of losing another one. The specialist has reassured us that there’s no cause to be concerned and she’s ordering regular ultrasounds and bloodwork until we hit 10 weeks, but I just can’t let myself accept that I might actually finally be having a baby. Last year was so terrible and I’m so scared of going through that again. I don’t really know what I’m asking for, but I guess – any advice??
Left coaster says
No words of wisdom but I am so right there with you. I haven’t had a loss but went through long, unpleasant, fertility treatments to get where we are. I’m almost 12 weeks and definitely relate to your feelings of attachment while still having tremendous anxiety about miscarriage or other problems (genetic defects etc.) If anyone has any suggestions about coping, I would also love to hear them.
JJ says
First – congrats! Second, I’m so sorry for your prior loss.
I went through something very similar and told my husband that the first trimester of pregnancy I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was incredibly guarded, cautious, and didn’t want to let myself get excited – in case something terrible happened again. For me, I eventually accepted that there was nothing I could feasibly do to prevent another miscarriage (as long as I was following all the obvious medical advice). It took until I could feel the baby moving, though, before I felt like it was “real” and that it wouldn’t just go away. Time will heal all wounds, though, and the pain of the prior loss will fade as you get further along in this pregnancy.
Anon for this. says
No words of wisdom either, but just commiseration, as I have also been through it. You just have to tell yourself that right now, this moment, you are pregnant and everything is fine. That was my mantra for so long. I remember breaking down during my ultrasound at 22 weeks because I was just sure they wouldn’t find a heartbeat. It’s so hard, I know. You feel like you’ve been robbed of the opportunity to just be carefree and excited about the pregnancy. If there’s no specific reason to worry though, you just have to tell yourself not to invite worry.
Anon says
Unfortunately not really words wisdom, but definitely commiseration here. We also had a prior miscarriage at 10 weeks in our first pregnancy as well as other complications. Without a doubt it robbed some of the joy out of pregnancy number 2. Every week got a little bit easier, but I will be candid and admit that I still just traded worries for other worries as I went: would we hear the heartbeat, would the first ultrasound go well, what were the results of genetic testing, was the baby moving enough, etc. I didn’t lose that feeling that the other shoe would drop until I was holding my baby in my arms. BUT the moral of the story is that everything did turn out wonderful in the end and I will hope for the same for you. Hang in there, and you will start to enjoy yourself and relax in spite of yourself.
Anonymous says
Thanks everyone – it helps to know that so many others have been through the exact same thing and with the same fears and anxieties. I appreciate it.
Take 3 says
This piggybacks onto Kat’s post yesterday re: changes post-children, but is anyone else having a hard time with some of the recent news stories (in particular, two horribly tragic stories regarding a pregnant woman and a small baby)? These stories just stick in my head, and I have a hard time shaking how awful the world can be. I don’t recall feeling this overwhelmed by news of tragedy pre-kids, but now, I feel rocked by sad news. I’ve always been a little anxious, but this response feels almost irrational.
mascot says
Being a parent definitely makes you more sensitive to bad things happening to kids. I remember crying while driving one day when a children’s hospital ambulance went past because it meant that someone’s baby wasn’t okay (pregnancy hormones are no joke). Don’t get me started on school shootings, I think every parent in my office was visibly in tears/shaken watching SandyHook unfold. It’s normal to feel sad/anxious when bad things happen. If your reaction is really disproportionate, you might want to look at therapies to reduce the anxiety.
I give myself permission to not click on those links or blog posts or whatever that have bad outcomes for kids. It affects my volunteering as well which was unexpected. I no longer can volunteer with hospitals/sick kids. Instead, I try to focus on what I can do to make kids lives better like school supply drives or bullying prevention.
Take 3 says
I agree with volunteering. My last pro bono matter involved a parental kidnapping, and I know I lost my objectiveness in the case. Ultimately, it was resolved, but if it had not resolved when it did, I would have passed the file as I knew I was getting too close. Now, I feel horrible b/c I took a break after the case and am not doing anything. It’s a good reminder that I can still help, but focus on more positive (?) outlets.
Meg Murry says
Yes, Sandy Hook was the first thing that really freaked me out. Before that, I felt sad whenever there was an incident at a school – but Sandy Hook happened when my son was in kindergarten, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how terrible I felt for those poor parents, and it didn’t help that my co-workers wouldn’t stop talking about how terrible they felt about it, so I couldn’t get away from it.
I also live in the flight path for life flight helicopters, and anytime one flies past our house when my husband isn’t home yet, or I hear the ambulance or fire truck stop down the street on what would be his route home, I tense up for a minute
I try to keep reminding myself that these things are horrible but rare, and then hug my family tighter. And turn off 24 hours news – it drives me too crazy. When things get too terrible in the news, I switch to only listening to podcasts or audiobooks on my commute, to avoid the constant repeating of bad news with no new information.
KJ says
I’m 100% the same. I saw that headline about the pregnant woman (which took place near my hometown, by the way) and was like nope, nope, nope, nope, not clicking. I don’t need to spend the rest of the morning crying. Anything involving babies and kids affects me much, much more deeply now, and I have never been an especially anxious person.
anne-on says
Yup. I cannot watch anything that has to do with children getting sick/hurt/killed, its just strikes too close to the fears I already have for my son. It also got ratcheted up times about a billion after Sandy Hook as the town is about 15 minutes from us and some of the funerals were held in our larger town, as well as having some parents at our school who are teachers there. Awful.
CHJ says
Yes! So sensitive! I can’t even read suspense novels if there is a child involved anymore, even if it’s just that the protagonist has a child and there’s an off-chance that child will be in danger. Can’t do it!
Take 3 says
ha! Same! I’m so glad I’m not the only one.
FVNC says
Yes, yes, yes. There was an episode of Walking Dead when the baby was in danger and I was sobbing, like runny nose huge tears sobbing. Since then, I do everything I can to limit exposure to real life or fictional children-in-distress stories.
CHJ says
The last episode of Walking Dead I ever watched, no joke, was the night before my son was born. Ever since then, I can’t do it!
Spirograph says
Law and Order SVU did this to me. I don’t even like that show (and will never watch it again), my sister had left the TV on that channel when she was visiting. Also “Wednesday’s Child” segments on our local news…thinking about kids without families of their own makes my heart hurt.
JJ says
Absolutely. I give myself permission to not read stories that will affect me like that beyond the headlines. My husband has also learned that I absolutely will not watch movies with kids in danger or dying. Real life and worrying about my kids gives me enough to dwell on – I’m not going to watch movies that make me feel even worse.
KJ says
Actually the toughest part about this for me is that my husband doesn’t understand at all. He keeps saying that it’s a little far after the baby’s birth to be hormonal, but I don’t think it’s that. I think this is a fundamental shift in my personality and preferences. I may need to say that to him explicitly because it’s getting kind of annoying the way he blows me off.
Pigpen's Mama says
Same here. Pre-baby I struggled a lot with these stories (I still can’t talk or think about Sandy Hook without tearing up), but it’s even worse now.
This post on Scary Mommy really resonated with me and made me realize that I’m not being overly sensitive:
http://www.scarymommy.com/i-ignore-the-news-to-stay-sane-as-a-mom/
I also read it around the same time that I realized my husband just doesn’t get it — he started to tell me one of the more recent horrific stories (of which there are too many) and I had to leave the room. It’s not that he’s not upset and saddened by these stories, his mind just doesn’t imagine it happening to OUR baby as vividly as mine does.
Meg Murry says
Thanks for the link, that says a lot about how I feel. There’s something to be said for going back to the old model of getting news from a once-a-day newspaper and 1 or 2 half hour TV blocks, instead of today’s constant need to tell us every horror going on in the world 24 hours a day. I read theSkimm and scan headlines, and listen to NPR when it isn’t a major tragedy time, but I just can’t handle the 24 hour news channels or websites.
Burgher says
Yep. I don’t even read the news stories. I also get really shaken up when I hear about anyone with kids having serious medical issues. I recently had an acquaintance who is my age and has kids the same age as mine that had an emergency brain tumor operation, and I could barely keep it together for the day at work. I don’t know if it is just that you hear about things like that way more than you otherwise would before social media, but it seems like every day I hear about a friend or a friend of a friend with an awful medical diagnosis.
Lorelai Gilmore says
This is some of what I was trying to get at in my post about getting back to “normal” after having kids. I feel exactly the same way. It’s like I just feel more exposed, more vulnerable than I did pre-kids.
One thing that has helped me is to start giving money and time to organizations who are doing good work to combat systemic problems. I give money to Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense and Sandy Hook Promise. I’m looking for a good organization that helps foster children (if you have one, please let me know!). I also support an organization that combats sex trafficking in children here in my area. And I do pro bono work in areas related to racism and policing – for many reasons, including that when Trayvon Martin was killed, I couldn’t stop thinking about, inter alia, how he was someone’s baby.
I generally don’t read those horrific stories and I protect myself from the constant parades of awfulness on 24-hour news (and I don’t ever, ever watch TV news). But I do try to do what I can to make the world a better place for other people’s children in addition to mine. It’s hard. I would love to hear other ideas for how to handle this.
Meg Murry says
I don’t know of a national organization, but you could look into funding local projects for youths aging out of foster care. I never knew about it until one of my co-workers mentioned it to me, and then there was a story on NPR, but in our state, when a foster child turns 18, they are immediately emancipated, whether or not they are finished with school. There are some group homes or halfway homes for them to go to, but some wind up having to go find an apartment or stay with school friends.
This is a link that talks about some of the work done in a community near mine for their “Youth Emancipation Task Force” – maybe one of your communities has something similar where you could donate time, money or supplies for people aging out of care? For instance, my coworker found out about the program when she was looking to donate the contents of her mother’s house when her mother moved to a nursing home.
mascot says
Through what sounds like a similar organization, I got to work on a “done in a day” project where we set -up and furnished an apartment for two guys who had aged out of foster care . They were so excited to have a place of their own and it was great to see how our work affected someone in a simple, positive way.
PregAnon says
Ok, I’m just going to make one comment about Moms Demand and drop it. Please, for your own sake, do some really, deep, thorough research into the things Moms Demand stands for. I was told by a MD activist recently that carrying a firearm for self defense is “stupid” because “most rapes aren’t fatal anyway.” My mother was raped and carried a firearm for self defense purposes ever after, and prevented a second rape through its use.
I’m all for gun safety and being super careful to keep them out of the hands of children and criminals, but what some of these women preach is pretty offensive. I’m not telling you what to do one way or another, but please just…think hard about this one.
Lorelai Gilmore says
What an awful experience for your mom. I’m sorry that you had a negative encounter with an activist as well. That must have been hard for you.
But if I were to tarnish every organization by the words of one person, I would have a hard time supporting any organizations, ever. Gun sense is extremely important to me – and that includes changing the culture around gun debates. I think they’re doing really good, important work here. I hope that just as you wouldn’t let the opinion of one crazy democrat spoil your opinion of the entire party, you won’t let the opinion of one activist tarnish your opinion of an entire group – or more importantly, of the causes they advocate for, including keeping guns out of the hands of children and imposing stricter standards of liability on those who allow children to get their hands on guns and unintentionally kill their siblings, their parents, their friends, or themselves.
But regardless, isn’t it great that there are now multiple organizations out there that support similar efforts. We can all find a place to support.
PregAnon says
But one other awesome organization to contribute to is “Children of the Night Foundation.” Dr. Lois Lee, the founder, is an amazing person. I got to meet her and hear her speak once, and she is just great.
CPA Lady says
I cried when the theme from Gone With the Wind came on the radio a couple weeks ago, even though I hate that movie, because I started thinking about how Rhett and Scarlett lost their only child in an accident. I JUST CANT.
Anonyc says
Yes. After having kids I have no tolerance for bad news about children, period. I used to occasionally watch bad-things-happening-to-children shows (L&O SVU, for example), but that is also out the window. Especially if the kids are close to the ages of my kids, I get too emotional and upset. This is one reason I haven’t watched Breaking Bad–I read a review in which they alluded to a child getting killed, and after that, I was nu-uh.
FWIW, I consider myself otherwise pretty even-keeled and not overly hysterical about lots of other things kid-related.
Anonymous says
This is me exactly. Before I had children, I felt appropriately sad about stories involving moms or children. But, not, I cannot really even read them, and if I do, they tend to haunt me / really affect me in a disproportionate way.
I also sometimes find myself going down a horrible rabbit hole of What Would I Do If ______________.
BKDC says
The post the other day about “feeling more like yourself” has got me thinking. My DC is 6 months old and I am feeling depleted and tired thanks to growing a little human; continuing to nourish said human through breastfeeding; pregnancy-induced insomnia; rising at all hours to care for little one; going back to work at 3 months pp; the early return of my period at 3 months pp; and dealing with all the other things life throws my way.
I don’t know what much more I can do on the sleep front aside from going to bed early, but I’m hoping to see a medical professional about the “feeling depleted” part of the equation. Anyone have experience working with a naturopath? I’m trying to eat the best I can and I continue to take my prenatals, but I suspect I might have some vitamin deficiencies. Based on my labor and delivery experience, I’d rather not deal with a medical doctor per se, but would also prefer to have my consultation covered by insurance, which only covers in-network providers.
A few questions: For those who have met with a naturopath (or an MD that takes this approach), was it worthwhile? Do you think this might help someone like me? Any recommendations in the DC area, preferably metro-accessible?
Thanks, all!
KJ says
I’m sorry, I don’t have any experience with a naturopath. But I will say that around 6 months was the real nadir of sleep deprivation and constant cold viruses for me. I just felt like $(*&%$ in every possible respect, and nothing but getting more sleep helped me feel better. Fortunately, after a long, slow road of sleep training my daughter is on a workable schedule, and I feel much better. I hope you start getting more sleep and feeling better soon!
BKDC says
Thanks for responding! I’ve never been a great sleeper, so I’m used to being tired. But before my son was born, the tiredness was nothing that a cup of coffee couldn’t fix. I can relate to the feeling like c&$*. I’ve never been one to get sick. This past winter has been one awful cold after another (I’m sure daycare germs are partly to blame)
I’m hesitant to try sleep training, but am taking solace in the face that he is napping better at day care. So, perhaps this will resolve itself soon enough.
anne-on says
You might want to look into a high dose of B vitamins. Someone here recommended the trader joes meltaway ones and it has made a huge different in my feelings of just flat out exhaustion. But the 6-month time frame is really rough with the sicknesses and the sleep issues – good luck!
Nonny says
To bring up something a bit happier, I was on Cup of Jo yesterday and found a new-to-me provider of happy, casual dresses that I am finding very tempting. They seem to be marketed pretty much exclusively to moms. The brand is Sonnet James. Link to follow.
Nonny says
And here is the link:
http://www.sonnetjames.com/
JJ says
These are the type of dresses that always look so fabulous on other people…and like a mis-sized men’s shirt on me. I could absolutely see the Cup of Jo author wearing this and looking incredibly chic, though.
POSITA says
I really want to like these but they all look really frumpy to me. I think there is much cuter stuff out there.
Nonny says
I get you on the slight frump but I like the simplicity….I think if you style them the right way the frump factor would diminish.
(former) preg 3L says
I think if you hem the below-the-knee dresses to be at or above the knee, they would be MUCH cuter. I see the practicality of below-the-knee with running after a little one, so maybe belting would raise them just enough, but yeah they do look a little frumpy.
Meg Murry says
I think they look cute on the model, but I fear most of them would look like “I’m wearing my nightshirt out in public” on me at best.
Never mind that sometimes I sleep in leggings and a tshirt, then throw on a bra and knit skirt and I’m basically wearing my pajamas in public with a skirt over them ….
I agree with you that they could be improved with accessorizing, but I don’t have the energy for much accessorizing – I’d rather pull one or two things out of the closet, throw them over my head and be done – needing accessorizing defeats the idea of simplicity to me.
Merabella says
I didn’t realize that H&M had baby clothes. I found some cute stuff, and I can’t remember who was sharing in my hatred of the overly gendered clothes available for babies, but H&M has some cute stuff.
KJ says
It was me! Thanks for the recommendation.
NewMomAnon says
Yes! And if you read their ethics policy, it is one of the most transparent with regard to ethical labor practices and eco-conscious sourcing (if that’s important to you). I have bought about half of my kiddo’s clothes through them, and their clothes have all been soft, wash well, and hold up to crawling/messes/teething. The sizing is a bit wonky though; the onesies ran small, the pants ran big, and one 12m dress is STILL too big even though my kiddo is wearing 2T in other brands.
Bonus – they have baby socks with grippy treads in packs of a single solid color. I bought a dozen pairs in one color so I didn’t have to match socks anymore.
Merabella says
Thanks for the help on the fit stuff! I can’t go in the stores, it gives me anxiety, so I’ll probably stick to shopping online. I also like that their Eco-conscious stuff isn’t crazy expensive.
I like that their basics stuff, like jeans and onsies don’t have things on them, like hearts or basketballs or whatever to gender them unnecessarily. They can go either way.
BKDC says
Thanks for the tips! We’re now starting to run out of the hand-me-downs and gifts we received when our son was born. Kids clothes are adorable, but even that hasn’t been enough to inspire me to start shopping.
Big plus that they have gender neutral options!
Anon says
Just wondering what you ladies with infants in daycare do for nighttime and morning routines? Right now my we are waking my five month old up around 5:30 so we can feed him and get him and ourselves ready and out the door for daycare start at 7:00. The thing is doesn’t really want to get up and doesn’t eat that much. He falls asleep between 9 and 10 pm and sleeps through the night. We do try to put him to sleep earlier, but he doesn’t have much interest in it. Usually he gets picked up from daycare around 6:15, home by 6:45 a bottle between 8-9 and then bed. Do those of you with infants have them going to bed earlier? Do you wake up/change/feed the baby before daycare? I can’t see not doing any of these, except maybe if he’s not starving holding off on the bottle until he gets there. So far he is doing well with weight and is a happy baby who seems to be thriving although he does take naps that are on the longer side while at daycare.
KJ says
Our routine is Baby (11 months) wakes up around 6:30; I leave for work at 7; husband gives Baby a bottle, dresses her, packs her daycare bag and bottles; husband drops baby off around 8; Baby eats breakfast at daycare; I get off work at 4:30; I pick baby up around 5:30; we are home by 6; I try to squeeze playtime, dinner, and a bath (4 x per week) in before we start bedtime between 6:30 and 6:45; baby is asleep by 7-7:15. Bedtime includes nursing. Husband gets home after Baby is asleep. Baby usually wakes up to nurse around 4am and then goes back to sleep until 6:30. We’ve had this routine since I went back to work at 10 weeks, although she used to nurse throughout the night. It’s tough to fit everything in in the evening, especially since she is feeding herself now and takes forever to eat dinner, so I am going to move my working hours back by half an hour starting next week. I don’t want to move bedtime back because she is always sleepy in the evenings – I think she doesn’t nap that well at daycare.
BKDC says
Wish our kids could switch sleep habits. Mine goes down at 7 (although lately he has been passing out at 6:30) and wakes up at 4:30am. After some effort, I’m able to get him back down for another hour, at which point I start getting ready for work. He tends to be up for the day at 6am, which is a little early for our needs. I’d prefer that I be able to get ready first and then take care of him before we leave at 7:15.
I don’t really have an advice to give as to how to get him down earlier as mine has decided that he sets his own schedule.
As for feeding, I do nurse my son before he gets dropped off at daycare, but he doesn’t seem all that interested. The teachers tend to feed him within a half hour of him being dropped off. I suspect that you should be able to get away with not feeding him in the morning as long as you alert the staff that he hasn’t eaten yet.
Sorry…wish I could have more advice for you!
Pigpen's Mama says
This is very similar to my daughter’s schedule — I’m now thrilled if she wakes up at 5:15, because she’s up at 4:30 some mornings. I usually nurse her right away, get her and her daycare stuff ready and then pass her off to her dad for drop off and they leave around 7:30am. She’s sometimes a cranky mess by 7am, so I put her down for a nap.
We get home from daycare around 6 if we don’t have any errands to run. And in a fairly random order I nurse, feed her some ‘solids’, wipe her down, have some play time and then put her to bed by 7am. Her early bedtime sucks for my husband, because he’s rarely home by 7 and is always cranky that she’s not up when he gets in, but keeping her up later means 1) I can’t get anything else done and 2) she’s a mess.
And typing that out explains why all of us are so darn exhausted!